NFL Week 11: It may Simms like old times today

US PresswireDenver Broncos quarterback Chris Simms (2) against the Washington Redskins in the fourth quarter on Nov. 15. Simms took over when starting QB Kyle Orton went down and will start this week.Three teams and more than three years ago, Chris Simms was an NFL starting quarterback coming off a playoff appearance and very much on his way to being the long-term centerpiece for Jon Gruden’s West Coast offense with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

One September afternoon changed all that, when Simms’ spleen was ruptured during a game against the Carolina Panthers. Simms has been in professional purgatory ever since. Even after he was healthy again, he never returned to the Bucs lineup, fell out of Gruden’s favor more than once and has been an NFL drifter.

He and Tampa finally cut ties in August 2008, so he worked out with the Baltimore Ravens but didn’t catch on. He spent last season holding a clipboard for the Titans, sandwiched in between the rejuvenation of Kerry Collins and the disorientation of Vince Young. He signed this March with Denver and had a good view of the messy divorce between the Broncos and Jay Cutler. Still, Simms was No. 2 on the depth chart to Kyle Orton, acquired in the Cutler deal.

Simms, who played for Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes and was the national high school player of the year in 1998, might well be an NFL starting quarterback again today.

Assuming Orton’s ankle sprain, the one that kept him out of practice all week, isn’t better, Simms will be under center when the Broncos try to regain first place in the AFC West and snap a three-game losing streak when they face San Diego. (Simms came on for the second half of last week’s 27-17 defeat against the Redskins, going 3-for-13 for 13 yards.)

As important as the game is to the Broncos — the Chargers are also 6-3 — starting again could be seen as even more so for Simms.

“I’ve been through a lot,” he told reporters this week. “I’ve always loved the game of football a great deal and to have it almost taken away from me, and then to be back kind of in the mix of things, it’s a special time for me and my whole family. I’m excited.”

Given the Broncos’ quick turnaround — they host the Giants Thursday night, of course — Orton’s injury could leave Simms in charge for more than just one game. His long road has endeared himself to Denver’s first-year head coach Josh McDaniels, who isn’t easily impressed by quarterbacks.

“I think it’s hard not to have a great deal of respect and appreciation for what he’s been able to overcome,” McDaniels said. “We have a lot of confidence in him, and I know the coaching staff does and the players have practiced that way this week. We expect to play well if he’s playing. I think the team feels the same way about him, and we’ll embrace that situation if that’s what we’re doing.”

Arguably, no one will embrace the situation more than Simms.

ET CETERA

Bad news for a Ravens defense that isn’t nearly as good as it recently was: Peyton Manning is coming to town. Even when Baltimore was in its defensive heyday with Rex Ryan, Manning had the Ravens figured out. He threw seven touchdowns in a pair of victories during the 2007-08 seasons, and the Colts won by a combined 75-23 margin. ... Chris Johnson, the NFL’s leading rusher by 109 yards coming into this week’s games, has the right conditions to extend that lead even more. In the Titans’ first meeting with the Texans, Johnson had 197 yards — the first of his five 100-yard games this season. In fact, Johnson has gone for at least 128 yards each of the past four games. ... That the JaMarcus Russell Era likely is over in Oakland isn’t surprising. The former No. 1 overall pick has completed just 46.8 percent of his passes this season. What is surprising is that Al Davis’ bunch has to turn to Bruce Gradkowski. Then again, if you know the Raiders. ... Remember when — and it wasn’t that long ago — all the talk during Cowboys-Redskins weeks revolved around how the NFC East would be seismically affected by the outcome? Today, the most compelling (read: dramatic) story line is that Dallas OL Andre Gurode and Redskins DT Albert Haynesworth will be on the same field for the first time since Haynesworth, then with the Titans, used the bottom of his cleats to bludgeon Gurode’s face as he lay on the ground. Haynesworth was suspended without pay for five games for the ugly incident.